protocol pipelining

Image:HTTP pipelining2.svg

Protocol pipelining is a technique in which multiple requests are written out to a single socket without waiting for the corresponding responses. Pipelining can be used in various application layer network protocols, like HTTP/1.1, SMTP and FTP.{{Cite book |last1=Payne |first1=Rob |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=of76QmGUnAoC&dq=Pipelining+can+be+used+in+various+application+layer+network+protocols,+like+HTTP/1.1,+SMTP+and+FTP&pg=PA301 |title=CCIE: Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert Study Guide: Routing and Switching |last2=Manweiler |first2=Kevin |date=2006-02-20 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-7821-5198-5 |language=en}}

The pipelining of requests results in a dramatic improvement in protocol performance, especially over high latency connections (such as satellite Internet connections). Pipelining reduces waiting time of a process.